From The Stacks: Chubby Checker, ‘Limbo Party’

What’s cooler than owning a 50 year-old album that’s never been opened and still has hype stickers on its shrink wrap? Well, lots of things. World peace, eternal youth, and bottomless cheesecake all come to mind, but a still sealed album for 1962 is pretty cool.

This one in particular appealed to me because it upgraded a thrashed version of one of the very first albums I ever owned. My first records were hand me downs from my aunt: Elvis Presley, the Beatles, the Mamas and the Papas, the Standells, Steppenwolf, Sonny and Cher. Overall, hers was a pretty solid early to mid-sixties teenybopper collection, so not a bad place for a preschooler to start.

Tucked into the pile were two Chubby Checker albums, Your Twist Party and Limbo Party. I don’t remember spinning them that often, but from the looks of the vinyl I must have had my grubby little paws on them quite a bit. They’re more scratched up than a nudist in a cactus patch.

So when I saw this one in my local record store’s bins, there was no question it was going home. I’ll never open it, just tuck it in a plastic sleeve and file it next to its much loved cousin. Who knows? Maybe my aunt will want her records back one of these days. It’s good to have a spare.

Limbo Party is a pretty common record, so you won’t have any problem finding a copy for 5-10 bucks. Sealed and with hype stickers might run you 20 bones or so. Happy hunting.